Boosted HDMI Cable

Hunter.tech

Member
Hello,

I need to buy 2 HDMI cables that are approximately 100' long each. After doing research I found out that the cables need to be boosted since they are so long. Does anyone know of a reliable website that I'd be able to purchase these cables with fairly quick shipping?

Any advice you could provide would be more than appreciated.
 

Two things about that. SDI does not support HDCP, so if the converter is HDMI compliant, then your signal will not be converted to SDI (if HDCP is present). Second, with SDI, you are limited in resolutions available, so unless you are going with a broadcast resolution (1080p for wide aspect for instance), you might not have as clean an image as you would like. Otherwise, SDI is nice as it offers longer signal distances with commonly available cable.
 
Forgot to mention that.

You will need a switcher on the control side to turn off HDCP. Easily rented for cheap.
 
Search 'HDMI over Fiber' and you'll get a lot of good solutions that are easy to manage, and some are surprisingly inexpensive if you only need to go 100'.
 
Even if you somehow find a way to boost the signal of the HDMI cable, I still wouldn't recommend it. What I'd do instead of this risky solution would be to use a HDMI Over Ethernet system. One I've used before was this one on Amazon

To be clear, this is not HDMI over Ethernet, which would be converting the video to Ethernet-based network traffic you could pass through your network switches. This is HDMI over CATx cabling which is strictly point-to-point. Reading some of the reviews though, you can get a good sense that you get what you pay for. If you go cheap, read the reviews first. Only safe-ish way to know what you're getting.


Question:
is this item HDCP compliance?

Answer:
Yes it is. My only suggestion is don't extend it over 40 feet. After that it loses some quality.
By Alex on March 24, 2013

I don't have the necessary equipment to test it and give a definitive yes or no answer, but considering my wildly mixed results, depending on what source and display I used, I would guess that it is not fully compliant with the specification. Bear in mind that this is only a guess and that the manufacturer (good luck reaching them) is better qualified to answer. I won't be held liable if my assumption or any conclusions based on it are incorrect. see less
By LitlJay on March 24, 2013

Question:
Will this carry 1080p and Dolby 5.1 from source to TV over Cat5e? I use my TV's Optical passthrough for surround sound due to my old receiver.

Answer:
Worked for a few hours then stopped . A full hdmi pass thru requires 2 cat5/6 cables.
By Edgar Pelayo on August 2, 2013

Mine works fine and have had no problems. Yes, it will carry 1080P and 5.1, although, I don't use the sound on my TV, only the receiver. Mine is going through cat 5e....approx. 30-40 feet distance.
By IDXPLNT on August 2, 2013

Does it work,Short answer , kinda. Long answer, it depends on your equipment not all equipment puts out the A/V signal at the same amplification so its hit and miss with these devices. I've used this device and it worked well and I've had to sent them back on other installs because they wouldn't work with certain brand/models I was using. I can tell you it probably won't work with Yamaha receivers (one that are 3 years old and older), Panasonic Blu-ray players, it's really trial and error. When it works it works great when it doesn't it's very frustrating.
By mike the AVguy on August 3, 2013

I was not able to set this extender to work. If I use one of those 6 ft cables that came with a router works, but when I set it up first with CAT5e and then CAT6 cable with a 15 to 20 ft length, never worked. I don't know if I didn't set the pin-out on the Ethernet cables correctly (even though my tester show no errors) or if it is due to the length, but basically I'm not using it and I ain't got the time to troubleshoot.
By Roberto M on August 2, 2013

Husband says, "Can not vouch for the audio. Video... Unequivocally yes. Since audio is carried on the same cable can not vouch for the optical still working."
By Lorjames on August 3, 2013

Sorry for the late answer. It is an active extender and requires electrical input at both ends. It did carry 1080p but I cannot certify 5.1 dolby. My guess is yes. After 50 feet u start losing video quality. So if u want to extend more than that I would suggest using another type of extender, like the passive double cat6 type. Specially if u want to extend high quality audio.
By Alex on August 5, 2013
 
I know I'm late to the party but HDbaseT is amazing for long runs of "HDMI". You can get converters with "POC" (power over cable) and plug just one end in. My 75' delicately run projector feed with active balancing amp in line is getting replaced as soon as we get a lift in that can reach it comfortably).
 
By the way, there is a robust used market for Crestron/AMX gear. Lot of equipment out there in the wild, and now that 4K has come into full swing there's plenty of perfectly good condition 1080p equipment going for pennies on eBay that was worth $1200 new. There are a bunch of 1080p presentation switchers even that were $12,000 new that are going for $175.

Just want to be careful to steer clear of equipment that needs special programming unless you have a buddy with access to the programming software who can do that for you.
 
That's *all* Crestron gear, is it not?

And my understanding is they're even pickier about you helping your buddy for free than the cops are about you helping your PI buddy by 'unofficially' running a tag for him...
 
Can't say I've encountered that. Nobody much cares what an independent programmer or dealer does with their spare time, and for this level of product the only issue is if you buy a separate TX and RX, and there's a wide enough gap between their firmware to cause issues like if the TX has firmware for an older version of HDCP support than the RX does.

Crestron's not unlike ETC when it comes to Paradigm systems. They'll provide plenty of support but they will do their best not to open everything up to whomever and offer enough rope with which they could hang themselves. That would just end up being an expensive amount of troubleshooting time for everyone involved.
 
I have used a "Portta" brand VGA over Cat5, and I'm not too impressed with it.

My favorite (of the lower priced devices) is by "AV Access"...their devices use a power connector that screws on.
 
Last edited:
I know I'm late to the party but HDbaseT is amazing for long runs of "HDMI". You can get converters with "POC" (power over cable) and plug just one end in.

The StarTech HDMI Extender I own does use the HDbaseT protocol, and yes you only have to power only one end (StarTech gives you the option whether you want to power the receiver or the transmitter, depending on which is more convenient for you).

However because it does use the HDbaseT protocol you have the option of using the included StarTech receiver, or plugging directly into an HDbaseT device, in my case an Epson G6900WU projector. Of course in plugging directly to the projector you have to power the transmitter.
 

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